It’s been announced that Florian Zeller’s smart and clever little play THE FATHER about an elderly dad loosing his mind is to return to the West End for five weeks prior to a tour.
Last years run at the Wyndham’s theatre was a massive box-office hit which only goes to show that serious drama can sell tickets if it’s got a big star in the lead and can capture the public and critic's hearts.
When I reviewed it I actually found it a little too chic and and tidy to be dealing with the messy subject of dementia but the central character’s state of mind is realised very cleverly by letting the audience see the world as the patient does with muddle and confusion in ever interaction he has.
Scene by scene all his certainties are stripped away as the same characters are played with different stories by different actors and even the furniture changes from moment to moment in the same room.
The real draw is to see Kenneth Cranham on stage, undeniably one of Britain’s finest senior actors. Nominated for a Tony Award for Stephen Daldry’s An Inspector Calls on Broadway, Kenneth Cranham’s numerous stage credits also include The Cherry Orchard at the National Theatre, The Homecoming at the Almeida and West End productions of Entertaining Mr Sloane, Loot, The Birthday Party and Gaslight. Screen credits range from the title role in Shine On Harvey Moon to Layer Cake, Maleficent, Hot Fuzz, Oliver! and Hellbound: Hellraiser II.
The production earned a raft of 4 and 5 star reviews last time and it became very tricky to get a ticket so early booking is highly recommended.
Florian Zeller is fast becoming one of France’s most well-known contemporary playwrights. His 2010 play The Mother was the winner of the Moliere Award, France’s highest theatrical honour. Translator Christopher Hampton’s own work includes The Philanthropist, Savages, Tales From Hollywood and Les Liaisons Dangereuses. He has translated plays by Ibsen, Molière, Chekhov and Yasmina Reza (including Art and Life x3).
Designed by Miriam Buether; lighting designed by Guy Hoare; sound designed by Christopher Shutt. Presented in the West End by Theatre Royal Bath Productions, the Tricycle Theatre and Simon Friend.
The rest of the cast is to be confirmed.
Is anyone looking forward to THE END OF LONGING, the new play by and starring Matthew Perry who found fame, many years ago as the handsome Chandler in TV’s FRIENDS?